Virtually everyone in the modern world is touched by the high cost of health care. With rising costs, fewer and fewer people can afford an optimal level of contact with a physician for treatment of health conditions or preventative care. This situation may lead many members of the population who are in need of health care to believe they cannot afford it. These persons are less likely to seek proper health care when needed.
Further, despite great advances in the field of medicine, there may still be some members of the population who feel threatened by or who harbor a distrust or fear of health care professionals or institutions, for any number of reasons. These persons are also less likely to seek proper health care when needed.
The two factors mentioned above: the high cost of health care and distrust or fear of health care professionals or institutions, may combine in members of the population to prevent such persons from seeking out and obtaining adequate health care.
Therefore, what is needed is a device which can reduce health care costs by performing some functions of a health care professional and at the same time reduce possible distrust of health care professionals and institutions by providing health care functions to a user in a patient-friendly and non-threatening manner.
The prior art discloses devices that monitor health related parameters. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,263 discloses a modular, microprocessor-based, health monitoring system. The hand-held unit has a display screen, a control button pad, interchangeable program cartridges and sensors for monitoring a variety of health care data. The program cartridges may include motivational and educational material related to use of the device, including step-by-step instructions. Acquired data may be transmitted to a data management unit via an interface cable and to a clearinghouse via telephone lines. A program cartridge for monitoring glucose levels and a glucose sensor is disclosed having the purpose of caring for children with diabetes. However, this device has the disadvantage of having a relatively small liquid crystal display screen, a limited ability to process and store data due to its small size, and limited ontime due to its battery power. Because this invention is directed to chronic ailments, its educational capabilities are likely limited to teaching how to use the device and to teaching about those chronic ailments to which it is directed.
Another example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,625, is a personal health monitor that measures a patient's weight, temperature, blood pressure and ECG waveform. A plurality of monitors may be coupled to a central computer via telephone lines. The central computer may prompt the patients to take medication, measure certain health parameters, supply answers to selected questions or determine patient symptoms based on patient responses to questions. The monitor transmits patient data to the central computer. The central computer compares collected patient data to expected values and triggers an alarm if the data falls outside a predetermined range. However, that system is not interactive. It is not interactively controlled by the user and it does not have the capability to provide health-related information.
Yet another example can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,225 which discloses a personal health monitor and its enclosure. The object of that invention is to provide an enclosure for a health monitor such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,625, discussed above. A disadvantage of this device is that it requires the use of a standard lap top computer as the processing unit which increases the cost of the device.
None of the above-mentioned patented devices benefit from the versatility of enhanced sound, video, network capabilities and cost effectiveness of a multimedia processor.